Camera device capable of synchronously shooting images inside and outside a car

ABSTRACT

A camera device includes a case having a first camera and a second camera arranged therein. The case is assembled from a first and a second half-case. The first camera is used to shoot images of the driver inside a car and the second camera is used to shoot images of the road in front of the car. The camera device also includes a mounting mechanism that allows adjustment of the case of the camera device to different orientations. Therefore, when the camera device is installed in a car, the first and second cameras can be adjusted to a desired shooting angle and images inside and outside the car can be synchronously shot and be used in an accident to determine which party should be responsible for the accident.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a camera device capable ofsynchronously shooting images inside and outside a car. The cameradevice is installed in a car and includes two cameras for shootingimages of the driver in the car and images of the road in front of thecar, so that the shot images can be used as a driving safety record tohelp in determining the party that should be responsible for in atraffic accident.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A camera used in a security and surveillance system must be adjustableto different shooting angles. A camera system installed on a bus orother large-size vehicles usually includes a camera for shooting imagesin the bus and a reversing camera for taking pictures during reversing,and both of these two cameras are adjustable in their shooting angles.After the cameras have been adjusted to the desired shooting angles,they are locked in place on the bus using screws.

Following the progress and development of the modern society, thetraffic in cities has become more and more complicated. However, thereare many people, including drivers and walkers, not following thetraffic rules in the environment crowded with cars. As a result, thereare accidents of different seriousness occurring everyday. According toinvestigations, most of the parties in traffic accidents can hardlyremember how the accident occurred. Under this circumstance, it is oftenvery difficult to clarify and determine who should be responsible forthe accident and indemnify for loss and damage. In a lucky case, theaccident is recorded by a nearby surveillance camera, and it will beeasier to clarify who should be responsible for the accident. Lackingsuch video recorded images as evidence, it would be much harder for thepolice to correctly find out the truth just by measuring the accidentsite and inferring the possible reasons. Particularly when there issomeone being killed in the accident, it would be unfair andunreasonable to determine the responsibility simply by relying on thesurvivor's argument. And, even if the survivor's argument is true, it isnot necessarily accepted by the families of the dead or the public. Thatis why many traffic accidents eventually involve in longstanding andweary lawsuit and negotiation for indemnity, and form a spiritual andphysical burden for both parties. Therefore, it is really necessary toinstall a camera device on a car for shooting images of the car duringdriving to help in finding out the causes of an accident. Moreover, whenthe images of the driver during driving and the images of road in frontthe car are synchronously shot, it will be easier to determine the partywho should be responsible for the accident.

In view that it is uneasy to find out the cause of an accident anddetermine which party should be responsible for the accident with theconventional cameras mounted on a car, the inventor has developed ashooting angle adjustable camera device for synchronously shootingimages inside and outside a car, particularly the driver's physical andspiritual condition during driving and the road condition in front ofthe car, so as to help in recreating the site of an accident.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a camera devicecapable of synchronously shooting images of a driver inside a car andimages of a road in front of the car, so that the shot images can beused in an accident to determine which party should be responsible forthe accident.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a camera devicethat is capable of synchronously shooting images inside and outside acar, and can be easily and accurately adjusted to the most suitableshooting angle without the need of using any tool.

To achieve the above and other objects, the camera device according tothe present invention is mounted in a car for shooting images inside andoutside the car, and includes a case, a first camera, and a secondcamera. The case is assembled from a first and a second half-case, andthe first and the second camera are arranged in the case for acquiringimages inside the car and images of road in front of the car,respectively.

The first half-case is provided with a first through opening, and thesecond half-case is provided with a second through opening. The lens ofthe first camera is protruded from the first half-case via the firstthrough opening, and the lens of the second camera is protruded from thesecond half-case via the second through opening.

The camera device of the present invention further includes a mountingmechanism, which allows adjustment of the case to a desired shootingangle and direction. The mounting mechanism includes a mount and atightening member. The mount is connected at an end to the car and atthe other end to the case. The tightening member can lock the case inplace when the case has been set to an adjusted position relative to themount.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objects can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is an assembled front perspective view of a camera deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled rear perspective view of the camera device ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the camera device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partially assembled view of FIG. 3 with a mount mechanismremoved thereof;

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view showing the camera device of the presentinvention being mounted in a car;

FIG. 6 schematically shows the manner in which the images acquired bythe camera device of the present invention are displayed on a screen;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a first half-case for a camera unitof the camera device of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the camera device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an assembled front perspective view of the camera unit of thecamera device according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a tightening member for the cameradevice in a loosened position; and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing the tightening member of FIG. 11 ina tightened position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 4. A camera device capable of synchronouslyshooting images inside and outside a car according to the presentinvention includes a camera unit 10 and a mounting mechanism consistingof a mount 20 and a tightening member 30. The camera unit 10 includes acase 11, and a first and a second camera 40, 50 arranged inside andconnected to the case 11. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the mount 20includes a mounting plate 21 for fixing to a predetermined position in acar 70. The mount 20 is connected at an end to the camera unit 10, andthe camera unit 10 connected to the mount 20 can be adjusted to adesired image shooting angle before being locked to that desiredshooting angle by the tightening member 30. The first camera 40 of thecamera unit 10 is used to acquire images of a driver 73 in the car, andthe second camera 50 of the camera unit 10 is used to acquire images ofa road in front of the car. The images inside and outside the car can beintegrated into one picture for displaying on a screen 71, as shown inFIG. 6, so as to facilitate the determination of responsibility in caseof an accident.

The case 11 of the camera unit 10 is assembled from a first half-case111 and a second half-case 112. The first half-case 111 is provided witha first through opening 113, and the second half-case 112 is providedwith a second through opening 114. The first through opening 113 islocated at a front face of the case 11, while the second through opening114 is located at a rear face of the case 11 to offset from the firstthrough 113.

The first camera 40 is arranged in the case 11 with a lens 41 of thefirst camera 40 forward protruded from the first half-case 111 via thefirst through opening 113.

The second camera 50 is connected to an inner end of a hood 60. The hood60 is provided at an outer end with a through opening 61, via which alens 51 of the second camera 50 is exposed from the case 11. The hood 60is arranged in the case 11 with the outer end of the hood 60 protrudedfrom the case 11 via the second through opening 114. The hood 60 issymmetrically provided at two lateral ends with two sideward outwardextended pins 62. Two laterally spaced partition plates 13 are providedat an inner side of the second through opening 114 on the case 11, andtwo recesses 131 are separately formed on the two partition plates 13corresponding to the two pins 62. The hood 60 is arranged in the case 11with the two pins 62 received in the two recesses 131, such that thehood 60 can be pivotally turned about the two pins 62, allowing the lens51 of the second camera 50 to be adjusted to a desired elevation angle.

Please also refer to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The first half-case 111 isinternally provided with two rearward extended plates 14, free edges ofwhich are separately pressed against the two pins 62, preventing thepins 62 from moving out of the recesses 131. Please refer to FIGS. 4 and8. The hood 60 is further provided at the two lateral ends with tworearward projected engaging teeth 63 corresponding two curved toothedracks 132 provided on the inner side of the second through opening 114.The projected engaging teeth 63 can be adjustably extended into valleysformed between adjacent teeth on each of the curved toothed racks 132,so as to engage with the curved toothed racks 132. By extending theengaging teeth 63 into a selected pair of valleys on the two curvedtoothed racks 132, the hood 60 and accordingly the second camera 50 canbe locked to a desired elevation angle without the risk of swayingeasily.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the first camera40 is an infrared camera for shooting images inside the car 70,particularly images of the driver during driving. The first camera 40 isimmovably connected to the second half-case 112. And, the extendedplates 14 on the first half-case 111 and the partition plates 13 on thesecond half-case 112 together form two complete walls in the case 11, ascan be most clearly seen in FIG. 8.

The camera unit 10 is mounted on the car 70 via the mounting mechanism,which allows adjustment of the camera unit 10 to a desired orientationfor shooting images. As having been mentioned above, the mountingmechanism includes a mount 20 and a tightening member 30. The mount 20is connected at an end to the car 70, and at the other end to the case11. The tightening member 30 can immovably lock the case 11 to the mount20, so that the camera unit 10 is held to a selected shooting angle.

Please refer to FIG. 10 that is an assembled front perspective view ofthe camera unit 10. As shown, the case 11 is provided on a top with ahollow cylindrical post 12. The hollow post 12 has a hole 121 formed inan upper part thereof. The hole 121 is a spherical hole larger than asemi-sphere. The hollow post 12 is provided at the upper part with atleast three spaced and axially extended slots 122 (four are shown in theillustrated embodiment), so as to provide the upper part of the hollowpost 12 with some extent of inward compressibility. An upper outerperipheral edge of the hollow post 12 is beveled to form an annularsloping face 123. A root or lower part of the hollow post 12 is providedwith a front and a rear guide groove 124 that are two correspondinglyconfigured and horizontally extended grooves. It is noted each of thetwo grooves 124 has a leading end 125 and a tail end 126, and a top wallof the groove 124 gradually inclines from the leading end 125 toward thetail end 126.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the mount 20 includes a mounting plate 21and a supporting arm 22, which are integrally formed into one body. Afree end of the supporting arm 22 has a ball 23 connected thereto. Theball 23 is rotatably received in the hole 121 on the hollow post 12provided on the top of the case 11 of the camera unit 10, as shown inFIGS. 11 and 12.

Please refer to FIG. 11. The tightening member 30 is a ring memberhaving two open ends. It is noted a central bore 31 of the tighteningmember 30 is diametrically expanded from top toward bottom. An upper rimof the tightening member 30 is formed with a radially inward extendedflange 32, and a lower side of the flange 32 forms an annular slopingface 33 corresponding to the annular sloping face 123 of the hollow post12. Two radially inward protrusions 34 are correspondingly provided on abottom of the central bore 31 at two diametrically opposite sidesthereof. The tightening member 30 is externally rotatably mounted aroundthe hollow post 12 on the top of the camera unit 10 with the two inwardprotrusions 34 separately extending into the front and the rear guidegroove 124 at the root of the hollow post 12. When turning thetightening member 30 for the inward protrusions 34 to slide in the twoguide grooves 124 from the leading ends 125 to the tail ends 126, thetightening member 30 is forced downward by the inclined top walls of theguide grooves 124. At this point, the downward expanded central bore 31of the tightening member 30 would apply a compressive force against theupper part of the hollow post 12, and the annular sloping face 33 at thelower side of the flange 32 would press against the annular sloping face123 at the upper end of the hollow post 12, bringing the hollow post 12to tightly clamp on the ball 23, as shown in FIG. 12. As a result, theball 23 in the central bore 31 is immovable relative to the hollow post12 and accordingly, the camera unit 10 is firmly held to a desiredshooting angle. The tightening member 30 further includes a handle 35,via which a user can conveniently turn the tightening member 30 withonly one single hand.

When it is desired to adjust the orientation of the lens 41, 51 of thefirst and the second camera 40, 50, respectively, first turn thetightening member 30 to slide the inward protrusions 34 along the guidegrooves 124 toward the leading ends 125 thereof, as shown in FIG. 11. Atthis point, the tightening member 30 is moved upward relative to thehollow post 12, and the hollow post 12 no longer clamps on the ball 23,allowing the camera unit 10 to be adjusted to a desired horizontal anglewithin a range of 360 degrees and to a desired elevation angle within arange of 45 degrees. When the camera unit 10 has been adjusted to thedesired angular position, a user can hold the camera unit 10 with onehand while turning the tightening member 30 with the other hand, so thatthe tightening member 30 compresses against the hollow post 12 and thehollow post 12 tightly clamps on the ball 23 again. In the process oftightening, since the camera unit 10 is held by the user's hand withoutthe risk of moving, the adjustment can be more accurately performed.

With the above arrangements, the camera unit 10 can synchronously shootthe images of the driving state of the driver in the car and the imagesof the road in front of the car. In case of an accident, the shot driverand road images are helpful in finding out whether the driver hasconcentrated his attention on driving or whether the accident is causeddue to negligence of the injured person or damaged car, so as todetermine the real party that should be responsible for the accident.Moreover, in the present invention, the camera unit 10 is locked by thetightening member 30 to a desired shooting angle, and the tighteningmember 30 can be manipulated by the driver with only one hand.Therefore, the design of the camera device of the present inventioncompletely meets most drivers' habitual action to adjust in-car deviceswith one hand, making the present invention ideal for use.

1. A camera device capable of synchronously shooting images inside andoutside a car, comprising: a case assembled from a first and a secondhalf-case; the first half-case being provided with a first throughopening, and the second half-case being provided with a second throughopening; the first through opening being located at a front face of thecase while the second through opening being located at a rear face ofthe case; the first and the second through opening are offset from eachother; two laterally spaced partition plates being provided at an innerside of the second through opening; and two recesses being separatelyformed on the two partition plates; a first camera being arranged in thecase for acquiring images inside the car; and the first camera having alens protruded from the first half-case via the first through opening; ahood being arranged in the case and having an outer end, which isprotruded from the second half-case via the second through opening andprovided with a through opening; the hood being symmetrically providedat two lateral ends with two sideward outward extended pinscorresponding to the two recesses on the partition plates on the case;and the hood being arranged in the case with the two pins received inthe two recesses, such that the hood can be pivotally turned about thetwo pins; and a second camera being fitted to an inner end of the hoodfor acquiring images in front of the car, and the second camera having alens exposed from the hood via the through opening thereof.
 2. Thecamera device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first camera is aninfrared camera.
 3. The camera device as claimed in claim 1, wherein thefirst half-case is internally provided with two rearward extendedplates, free edges of which being separately pressed against the twopins on the hood, preventing the pins from moving out of the recesses onthe partition plates.
 4. The camera device as claimed in claim 1,wherein the hood is further provided at the two lateral ends with tworearward projected engaging teeth, and the second half-case is providedat an inner side of the second through opening with two curved toothedracks corresponding to the two engaging teeth; and the two engagingteeth being adjustably extended into any selected pair of valleys formedbetween adjacent teeth on each of the curved toothed racks, allowing thehood to be adjusted to a desired elevation angle through engagement ofthe engaging teeth with the valleys on the curved toothed racks.
 5. Thecamera device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a mountingmechanism which allows adjustment of the camera unit to a desiredorientation; the mounting mechanism including a mount and a tighteningmember, the mount being connected at an end to an inner side of the carand at the other opposite end to the case; and the tightening memberbeing used to lock the case in place when the case has been connected tothe mount and adjusted to a desired angular position.
 6. The cameradevice as claimed in claim 5, wherein the case is provided on a top witha cylindrical hollow post, the hollow post having a hole formed in anupper part thereof and the hole being a spherical hole larger than asemi-sphere; the hollow post also being provided at the upper part withat least three spaced and axially extended slots, so as to provide theupper part of the hollow post with some extent of inwardcompressibility; a root or lower part of the hollow post being providedwith a front and a rear guide groove that are two correspondinglyconfigured and horizontally extended grooves; each of the two grooveshaving a leading end and a tail end, and a top wall of the groovegradually inclining from the leading end toward the tail end; andwherein the tightening member is a ring member having two open ends andhas a central bore diametrically expanded from top toward bottom, tworadially inward protrusions being correspondingly provided on a bottomof the central bore at two diametrically opposite sides thereof; and thetightening member being externally rotatably mounted around the hollowpost on the case with the two inward protrusions separately extendinginto the front and the rear guide groove at the root of the hollow post;whereby when the tightening member is turned for the inward protrusionsto slide in the two guide grooves from the leading ends to the tailends, the tightening member is forced downward by the inclined top wallsof the guide grooves and the central bore of the tightening memberapplies a compressive force against the upper part of the hollow post.7. The camera device as claimed in claim 6, wherein an upper outerperipheral edge of the hollow post is beveled to form an annular slopingface, and an upper rim of the tightening member is formed with aradially inward extended flange, which has a lower side formed into anannular sloping face adapted to press against the annular sloping faceof the hollow post.
 8. The camera device as claimed in claim 7, whereinthe tightening member is provided with a handle.